- Starbucks significantly expands its offering of Oleato coffee with added olive oil.
- As reported, the drinks are now available in all of the company’s stores in the US, including licensed ones.
- But the drinks have received mixed reviews. One TikTok described them as “oil spilled on iced coffee.”
Starbucks is rolling out Oleato, its olive oil-infused coffee, to all U.S. stores, despite mixed reviews.
Starbucks he said that the drinks will be available starting Tuesday in all of the company’s U.S. stores, including those operated and licensed by the company, including grocery stores, airports and college campuses.
The drinks debuted in Italy in February 2023, and began rolling out in the U.S. a month later. They are also available in select Starbucks stores in Canada, London, Paris, Osaka, and Tokyo, as well as a broader selection at Starbucks Reserve stores in the U.S.
Some drinks have olive oil added to them, while others contain olive oil in the form of Oleato Golden Foam.
This Oleato range in the US offers a Caffé Latte with oat milk and a variety of drinks served with Oleato Golden Foam, including an Iced Shaken Espresso with toffee, an Iced Chai Tea Latte and a Dragon Drink Refresher.
You can also pay $1 or $1.25 more, depending on your location, to add a pump of olive oil to some of the other drinks on the menu, like the English Breakfast Tea Latte, Caffé Mocha, and even the Frappuccino range. You can also pay to add Oleato Golden Foam to some drinks.
The drinks are made with Partanna extra virgin olive oil.
Starbucks founder Howard Schultz introduced the line after blending olive oil into Starbucks coffee in Sicily, where olive oil is a key component of the Mediterranean diet. he said gave the drinks an “unexpected, velvety, buttery flavor that enhanced the coffee flavor and lingered beautifully on the palate.”
Schultz said Wall Street Journal When the Oleato line was first announced, he expected there would be “haters” and “synoki.” He admitted there was skepticism even within the company when he first proposed the idea to the company’s corporate team.
The drinks have been met with mixed reactions, with one TikTok user describing them as “oil spilling on iced coffee,” while another said it was “so nasty.” Photos and videos show oil clinging to the sides of customers’ plastic cups.
“If I can stop even one of my followers from buying this, I’ll be cheerful,” said another TikTok user he wroteSome TikTok users even speculated that it was an April Fools’ joke.
Many social media users have said that these drinks upset their gut. A dietician said CNN that combining a high-fat substance, such as olive oil, with coffee can have a laxative effect.
But not everyone dislikes this drink. TikToker On a more positive note, she said the drink gave her a “kick in the back of the throat” and “a little spice.”
Reviewers generally say that Toffeenut is the best in Oleato’s offering.
In a review for Business Insider, Phoebe Hunt wrote that she most enjoyed two iced drinks she ordered from the Oleato selection at Starbucks Italy, though she noted that the olive oil began to separate very quickly, creating an “unappealing oil barrier at the top and around the rim of the cup.” She said that the Oleato caffè latte “tasted dull and weighty” after a few sips.
One Reddit A user who said he was a barista at Starbucks said that the Oleator drinks tasted better than expected and that the store manager encouraged staff to experiment with syrups and additives so that he could recommend the drinks to customers. However, a Reddit user who said he was a shift manager at Starbucks responded by asking why staff had to go to so much effort to disguise the Oleator line “to make it taste less like what it is.”
Another Reddit user who claimed to be baristas said they make about one Oleato drink an hour “on a good day,” though another Reddit user said their shop has a “crowd” of customers who order it “constantly.”
Starbucks has introduced drinks in some Middle Eastern countries in May of last year, though it’s unclear if they’re still available or if they’re already on the company’s menu in that region.
